


The Dogs of War

by startrek22



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, cool ending though so its aight, infidget
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25222303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrek22/pseuds/startrek22
Summary: After some tense close encounters, two sworn enemies begin to form a bond.
Relationships: Avatar | Custom Hero (Sonic Forces)/Infinite (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Kudos: 30





	The Dogs of War

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was initially inspired by a comic made by sickaede on tumblr. Go check ‘em out! Also, this is the first Sonic fic I’ve *posted*, but I’ve got more in work. These may or may not fit into the ‘Smash Camp’ multiverse.

“You’re taking off, too? I was thinking of the same thing.”

The wolf looked off into the distance, over the sunny city-scape before him. It was pretty obvious that the other guy was talking in jest; the world was still going to need a figure like Sonic the Hedgehog. Him, though? He’d done his part. The last few weeks had been the most dynamic of his life - breaking the famous hero out of space jail, retaking sections of the world, and fighting..

...

When he said he had others to help, he was being bold-faced. Really, the moment everyone would stop talking to him, he had to sprint off. He  had to get somewhere - there was someone who was in need of help.

It’d started off a while back, a couple of weeks ago.

Though neither of them were sure, there was a sort of strange, mutual respect between the two - even if they were constantly trying to kill each other. The jackal quietly admired the ‘tenacity’ of the wolf, and how, even after the hardest of defeats, in the face of pure terror, he still got back up and kept going. There was a fire in him that refused to go out. The wolf, meanwhile, respected the jackal, though he saw through him; no matter how much he talked himself up, he was still a guy in a mask. Considering both of them held a Phantom Ruby, in terms of power they were (relatively) equal. If they were going to fight, ultimate defeat on both ends was a possibility.

So, when the masked menace appeared one evening at his favorite quiet spot, the recruit didn’t back down. 

“Well, well, well... you’re feeling  _ brave _ today, aren’t you? At last, have you resigned to your fate?”

The wolf steeled his nerves.  _ Guy in a mask. _

“... Why are you doing this?”

Infinite chuckled. “My reasons would be beyond your understanding.”

“... N-no, I think I’d get them.”

“You’re feeling  _ bold  _ tonight, aren’t you? How could someone like you... insignificant, disposable,  _ weak _ ... ever hope to take on a being like myself?”

Through mental means. A framework was starting to appear in Gadget’s mind, from the various comments the jackal had made. Something was up behind that metal veneer. 

“I don’t,” He gulped, still shaking a bit. “.. You could kill me right now, if you wanted to. So, why don’t you?”

“To kill you now wouldinsufficiently serve my.. greater plans. I need to make those who resist my will  _ suffer _ .”  


“Sure . Or.. you’re hesitating.”

_Hesitating_? To hear such an insult, from such a lowly  _worm_ , quietly enraged the being. He was a  _ god! _ No mortal could defy him.

“... I don’t need to waste my time on insects like you. Your defeat will come, soon enough.”

With that, he blinked away. 

... Holy crap, Gadget had  _lived!_

The encounter had been strange, but it became stranger when the same thing happened the next day. And the next day, and the day after that. It was a sort of sick game - one of taunting, keeping calm, not letting words get to you while you choose your own. Each time, they could’ve killed each other; but each time, they just kept up with the same questions and dodgy answers. 

After a couple of days, though, things started to shift.

“... I have strived for this for so long. It is my  revenge against the world. I shall remake it as my kingdom, as-“  
  
”Weak.”  
  
“...”  
  
”That’s the word, isn’t it? You’ve.. got something with being ‘weak’. Are you.. afraid of it?”  
  
Swirling in crimson waves of energy, Infinite raised a hand, ready to annihilate his foe.

“Hey, Hey, I ... I-I’ve got some fears, too. Like, the dark, and spiders, and stuff, y’know? But that doesn’t make me weak. It just means it’s harder to face it. But, you  _ do _ , y’know? You  _ do _ face it, and then...”

Silence, except for the chirping of insects. 

“.. you feel okay.”

“...”

The jackal lowered his hand, and walked away.

The war waged on, and battles were lost and won. What nobody knew, though, was that two bitter enemies were, in secret, meeting on a hilltop near the city. Slowly, things thawed; the grander of the two even shared some of his stories and advice, not just haughty put-downs. They understood each other, in a way, more than anyone else could, and found that they were similar in many different aspects. When they were on this hill, they were just two friends, talking. Debating. Even cracking a joke or two, as the world turned and burned around them. It was a haven, just for them to be open, honest, and freely vulnerable.

Looking after the setting sun on one of those evenings, a gloved hand creeped on to another. 

“You know.. for a monster..”

Gadget looked over.

“You sure do have nice eyes.”

Through the thick red cover of the mask, a yellow pupil still shined out. The two kept looking into each other’s eyes.

Slowly, the wolf’s hand raised up, gently feeling the cold side of the mask as he leaned in. As he moved even closer, he slid the mask up, shutting his eyes tight behind his glasses. The jackal didn’t mind. There was a trust between them - he knew that Gadget wouldn’t open his eyes.  As the sun dipped below the orange and purple-hued horizon, they embraced. This was a connection, an understanding, like neither of them had felt before. They weren’t afraid, here. 

The war was coming to an end, soon, it was obvious. Eggman’s forces were weakening, and the Resistance grew closer to his main base of operations. But, for this one moment, frozen in time on the hilltop.. they could be together.

No matter what came next, they’d always have their haven. 

_ Shut up, shut up, shut up _ _,_ he was thinking to himself, holding back tears while the group celebrated. They’d won, yes, the world was saved.. but Infinite was  gone. 

They’d planned it out. Infinite would keep up the charade, and Gadget would cancel it out using  _ his _ Phantom Ruby. But, it went wrong. Sonic barged in, and the wolf was obligated to follow. He couldn’t have told him about where they had been - he couldn’t have told anyone. No one would have understood. Infinite lost control of his powers, and he just.. disappeared.

His last sight of the jackal had been locking gazes, seeing the confusion and fear in his eyes. 

“Hero of the Resistance”, they called him. ‘Full Honors’. ‘Anything you need,’ they said, ‘we can help you out.’

They could never help him out, here.  _ He _ was gone. 

But..

If there was a chance - any chance, the  _ slimmest  _ of possibilities, that he had survived... he knew where he’d be.  So, as soon as the hedgehog ran off, he shifted into a sprint. Down the road, around the rubble being cleared away by volunteers, through the town surrounding the city. Up the street, up into the green hills of the massive park. Over the grass, by the trees...

To a clearing with a bench and a tree, where there laid a shattered mask and a limp, rasping body.

It felt like he’d been falling for days. The chain of events leading up to this looped in his mind, all the way down. Losing the squad, defeat, weakness, worthless, fear. Eggman, manipulation, lab rat. Mask, Ruby, power. Conquering, destruction, terror, war. Pain. Gadget, rebellion, safety, hope. Weakness? The fear had subsided. Around him, he wasn’t weak. 

Final battle, careful plan. Screw-up, Eggman. Pain, falling, everything’s dark. Weak body.. heart’s still burning.

Then, things started to get lighter. He heard... yelling. Loud, passionate yelling, a cracking voice from a sore, choked throat.

“... I DON’T CARE! I know him better than any of you - I’ve seen a side of him that  _ none _ of you have seen. He was afraid, and Eggman fed into that fear to make him a tool. He put him on a leash, and you all act like he put that Ruby on his chest himself, when we all know it was  _ grafted _ into his nerves. What he did when he was under control was wrong, and we can never go back to the way it was before... but we can at least  _ try _ to forgive him, and let him help to fix what he’s broken.”

He was in a hospital bed, hooked up to different equipment. There were two Resistance soldiers in the room, along with some of the Resistance heads... Sonic...  and Gadget.

You want to give me ‘full honors’? You said you’ll do whatever I need you to do. If you  mean it, then, just do this: Let me take him in. That’s all I ask. I know what he’s really like - I’m closer to  him than anyone else could  _ possibly _ be, and I  _ know _ that, deep down, his heart is good. It’s confused, it’s afraid, it’s been beaten and dragged around and experimented on.. but it’s good, and it’s strong. And it’s beautiful.”

“... Alright. We’ll put Infinite under your guard.But, we’re keeping him on Resistance watch. There’s a lot of people out for his head; we’ll have to have him on house custody for a while after he’s ready to leave the hospital.”

Gadget nodded. “Thank you,” he whispered hoarsely.

Rough coughing came from the interred patient. Whipping his head around, the wolf saw that Infinite was awake - weakened, dazed, and alarmed, but awake. He strode over to the bedside, kneeling down and seizing one of the jackal’s hands, sniffling in joy.  
  
  
  
  
It had been a couple of months, and ‘Finn Zero’ was sharing a small house on the edge of the city. There were still some scars - a triangular burn mark on his upper chest, with lines radiating out down his torso - but, for the most part, he had recovered. Even if he wasn’t the mightiest physically, he was still strong - he knew that, now. His partner had taught him that.  
  
For the most part, he stuck around in the house while Gadget went out, laying low as he settled into his new identity. But, sometimes, when there was a quiet night and an OK from the local base..

The wolf and the jackal would head up the hill next to their house, and watch the sunset together.


End file.
